Eurozone economic confidence strengthens in March
According to poll results by the European Commission on Wednesday, eurozone economic sentiment reached a three-month high in March, mostly due to improvement across all sectors except construction. Eurozone consumer confidence increased by 0.6 points in March compared to the February reading.
According to a flash estimate released by the EC, consumer confidence in the eurozone consumer increased to -14.9 in March from -15.5 in February. Economists polled by Reuters predicted an increase to -15.0. Thanks to improving perceptions regarding their household’s past and future financial situation, as well as somewhat less negative estimates for the overall state of the economy, confidence among consumers continued to recover.
Meanwhile, sales and employment growth uncertainty among US firms eased. The Atlanta Fed survey findings released on Wednesday indicated that US firms’ concerns about the uncertainty surrounding sales revenue growth and employment in the upcoming four quarters eased slightly in March. The smoothed indicator for the sales revenue growth uncertainty decreased to 3.73 per cent from 3.84 per cent in February.
Additionally, the job uncertainty index declined in March, falling to 4.07 per cent from 4.14 per cent in the previous month. The survey also showed that expectations for employment growth has improved recently, and the uncertainty about employment growth has dropped back to pre-pandemic levels.
According to the survey, firms would be prompted to adjust their employment projections by 4.5 per cent in the event of an unanticipated shift in sales growth (whether positive or negative) during the course of next year.
Finally, data confirmed the UK economy went into recession last year. The statistical office verified a technical recession towards the end of 2023 for the UK, following the latest estimate indicated a contraction during the last two quarters of 2023. Gross domestic product experienced an unrevised decline of 0.3 per cent following a 0.1 per cent decline in the third quarter.
As a result, the British economy grew only 0.1 per cent in 2023, a far cry from the 4.3 per cent growth recorded in 2022. Britain’s economy appeared to be starting 2024 on a stronger footing as the GDP increased by 0.2 per cent in January from the month before. Unofficial polls also indicate that growth continued in February and March. The nation’s economy is just one per cent larger than its level of late 2019 due to the delayed recovery from the pandemic, with only Germany among the Group of Seven nations faring worse.
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